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Your Community, Your World
correction and long-lasting change demand great effort
I read an interesting idea... that seems true for some people: reality is how we do things around here. So, what does this mean? I think it means that we like what we're used to doing, thinking, saying, drinking, and eating. What our families, friends, communities, and cultures teach us then becomes "reality" for us. This can be positive, too.
Yet sometimes we're given things... that might not be so nutritious (like fast food, grilled cheese sandos, or milkshakes). Or, we believe some things about nutrition that might not be true. Here's the deal: what your caregivers, uncle, or neighbor feed you - they do this with love. But, uhm... er... uh... well... some things aren't so healthy. Just sayin'.
ON THIS PAGE:
Water Factoid / What a difference a day makes... / Farming / Eco-Systems / Farming Solutions! Here's the dirt on dirt. / When you hug a tree, it hugs you back. / Mushrooms + Trees: A Love Story / Mushrooms as Art! / Make an Impact!
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Water Factoid
Did you know...? It takes 660 gallons of water (2498 liters) to produce a 1/3 pound burger (150 grams). This includes water 1) for the animals, 2) for the crops that feed the animals, and 3) for cleaning, butchering, and packaging. For two slices of whole wheat toast, it takes 22 gallons of water (83 liters). Beans use even less water. Yay for hummus and black bean tacos!
What a difference a day makes...
Each day, one person who eats whole plants saves:
1100 gallons of water / 5000 liters
45 pounds of grain to feed food animals / 20.4 kilos
30 square feet of forested land / 2.8 sq meters
20 pounds of CO2 (carbon dioxide) / 9.8 kilograms
1 animal's life
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Farming
Some of you might live on or near a farm. Others might live far from one. One thing for sure: the food ingredients in your breakfast, lunch, and supper once lived on a ranch or a farm. It comes from a field, in a greenhouse, or in a vertical farm (without soil inside a building).
Some farmers grow plants. Others raise food animals - this is called animal husbandry. Without hard-working people who provide food for us, we'd be pretty hungry!
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Eco-Systems
What's up with our changing weather? Looks like the way we've been living and eating isn't so smart. And Mother Nature is feeling pretty sick. Some of this comes from all the cars and planes and other transportation we use. These make the air above us unwell.
Another main reason is the Earth's climate is feeling the effect of how we're raising food animals and how farming our soil. But, there's good news: solutions are happening right now!
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learn more
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When you hug a tree, it hugs you back.
Have you ever hugged a tree? It feels kinda strange. Then, the energy, roots, bark, and leaves begin to speak to us, and it starts to feel kinda wonderful. Trees try to remind us how important they are to all living creatures, including us humans. They create oxygen, which is how we can all live on Earth. A terrific tree project is to plant some. So, the next time you need a warm hug, find a tree!
Mushrooms + Trees: A Love Story
Have you ever wondered what lives under trees? Turns out, under each step you take, there's 300,000 miles/483,000 kilometers of fungi. They spin a web under and over the ground (mushrooms are "fungi flowers"). In fact without fungi, the trees, animals, and humans wouldn't be here. Why? One reason: when something dies, fungi eat the dead stuff. Then, it's turned into nutrients for the soil, worms, and other critters. There's a fungus among us!
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Mushrooms as Art!
(family-friendly video)
